Thurrock parkrun, Orsett Heath

Thurrock is a unitary authority area with borough status within the ceremonial county of Essex, with a population of around 176,000 people. The word 'Thurrock' is either from the Saxon or Middle English word Thurrok (þurruc) and means 'the hold of a ship'. It can also mean a 'dung heap' which is of course a large pile of dung (or the solid waste from animals such as horses or cows). Its use as a local place name can be traced back to an Anglo-Saxon estate called Turroc.

When most people hear the name Thurrock, they would probably associate it with one of two things; its famous shopping centre and retail park Lakeside, which is the eleventh largest shopping centre in the country, or the Dartford-Thurrock River Crossing (commonly known as Dartford Crossing), which forms part of the London orbital road.

The southern border of Thurrock is defined by the path of the River Thames, and this is the most-densely developed part of the borough where its largest town, Grays can be found along with a large number of industrial premises and distribution centres. In fact there are two oil refineries and one of the country's largest refuse disposal sites here. Its proximity to the River Thames and the M25 means the chemicals and products produced here can be easily transported around the country or indeed the world. It is also home to the famous Port of Tilbury which serves as the principal shipping port for London.

Thurrock also has quite a surprising connection to the film industry, with 'Four Weddings and a Funeral', '28 Days Later', 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade', 'Batman Begins', and 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit' all having scenes filmed at various locations within the borough. Purfleet, which is in the far west of Thurrock, is where Bram Stoker's Dracula had an estate and was shipped there in 50 boxes of earth from his Transylvanian castle. Its attractions include Tilbury Fort and Coalhouse Fort, which are former artillery forts on the Thames and Grays Beach.

The borough also contains a large amount of green space including parks such as Thameside Nature Park, Langdon Hills Country Park and Belhus Wood Country Park, a few villages and farmland. The villages that are of most interest to this write-up are Orsett Heath and Chadwell St Mary. What are now residential areas were once part of a large area of farmland, heathland and woodland which included Orsett Heath, Chadwell Heath, Hangman's Wood and Terrel's Heath. Parts of Orsett Heath were also used for gravel extraction around the turn of the 20th century.

The land around the villages that has not been developed is largely still in use as farmland, however there is a section of Orsett Heath and Terrel's Heath which is known as Chadwell Recreation Ground. This open grass area with some remaining elements of heathland features a number of different sections which sit nestled between the adjacent sections of housing. Its western border is flanked by the A1089 (Dock Approach Road) trunk road. There are some marked sports pitches, a small unenclosed children's play area and an unenclosed basketball court plus another large flat concrete section which I can only assume is the remains of a c.1960's sports facility.

On 10 October 2015 the recreation ground became home to Thurrock parkrun, Orsett Heath which is a free, weekly, timed 5 kilometre event that takes place on Saturday mornings at 9am and is open to all abilities including those who wish to walk. Like all parkruns it is run entirely by volunteers and as such offers opportunities to lend a hand in a variety of roles on a regular or ad-hoc basis. This write-up is from my second visit to the event which was on 11 January 2025 at a cold and beautifully frosty event 416. My first visit was on 26 March 2016 where I took part in event 24. The original write-up felt a little dated, so this one supersedes it.

When visiting to take part in the parkrun you need to head towards the northern section of the recreation ground which is just off Heath Road. The best marker to look out for is the building with the pyramid-shaped roof which is known as The Pyramid Centre or The Pyramid Resource Centre and Scrap Store, it is home to and run by the Thurrock Play Network. There is a free-of-charge car park adjacent to the building which I estimate can hold around 80-100 vehicles. Marshals are present within the car park before the event and they ensure vehicles are parked in the most efficient manner.

For those travelling via public transport the closest National Rail station is Grays which is about 2.8 miles away. The station is served by c2c trains on the London to Tilbury and Southend line. It looks like the easiest way to complete the journey would be by taking the 83 bus to Heath Lane (alighting at the Loewen Road stop) and this leaves a 0.3 mile walk to reach the parkrun meeting point. Other bus services that stop nearby are the 100, 200 and 475 but these stop further away and will require a longer walk of around 0.6 miles. I didn't see any proper bicycle racks but there is a small metal fence around the car park which you could secure a bike to.

Should an overnight stay be required there are some hotels dotted around the local vicinity. If you fancy a treat there is the 4-star Orsett Hall Boutique Spa Hotel which is approximately 2.5 miles away by road. The original Orsett Hall was completely destroyed by a fire in 2007 and replaced with an almost identical replica in 2009. There are of course a few other independent local options. Those who prefer the familiar setting of the chain hotels have a few nearby options. The closest cluster can be found in Thurruck near Lakeside Shopping Centre. This is home to two Premier Inns, two Travelodges, a Best Western and an Ibis.

There are toilets located in the Pyramid Centre which are available to those attending the parkrun and they were open well in advance of the parkrun start time. They are fairly basic, and although they (the gents, at least) had sinks with soap, the only hand drying facilities were some towels which I couldn't bring myself to touch. The meeting point along with a tarpaulin bag drop and the start/finish area are all located next to the car park immediately adjacent to the main road. The briefings take place here shortly before the event gets underway.

The parkrun takes place over a two-lap clockwise course and the surface underfoot is 100% off-road with the majority being grass. Trail shoes are my preferred footwear at this venue, but road shoes will suffice during the drier times of year. It's a flat course, but be aware that the ground is a little bumpy in a few places. The course is essentially flat and my 2025 GPS data recorded just 9 metres of elevation gain over the 5 kilometre course. Participants with buggies should be absolutely fine here, but I'd say it's not the ideal course for wheelchair users. The recreation ground is quite exposed and offers little to no respite during poor weather conditions.

The course is very easy to follow as it largely sticks to the perimeter of the recreation ground and I can't imagine any point where you could take a wrong turn or get lost. From the start the course heads in a southwesterly direction where it passes over some slightly bumpy ground on the way to the first corner where it turns to head directly south. Up ahead is a brick building which marks the next corner and upon reaching it the course turns to head east. The basketball court can be seen to the right and a random scattering of children's play facilities follows shortly after. The only point where the course leaves the perimeter is when it cuts across the grass field and heads across to the opposite side.

Through the trees it is possible to see St Mary's Cemetery which is notable for containing 36 War Graves Commission graves from the Second World War and the grave of a local resident who died in the 9/11 terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in New York. The course runs alongside the cemetery and then continues heading to the west as it passes the back gardens of the adjacent houses. Turning to head northwards, the general theme of the course changes as it heads through a passageway between outcrops of trees and then through another bumpy section which feels more like heathland.

The points where the course changes direction are generally marked with small colourful saucer cones and there are marshals strategically positioned on some of the corners. You may also notice that the route has permanent direction signs. They were installed by Thurrock Council and feature the Active Thurrock branding. One of the signs has a map of the course and a link to the parkrun website. Very handy for anyone planning to complete a freedom run/walk on the course.

The final part of the lap follows the natural dirt and grass path alongside the adjacent Farm Road and then Heath Road which is lined with evenly spaced trees. This leads back towards the start area which completes the lap and this is followed by a second, identical lap. At the end of the second one the finish line can be crossed. Barcode scanning takes place at the meeting point and finish tokens are then placed in the event's bespoke wooden token holder. The Pyramid Centre is the location for the post-event refreshments. Options are limited but the prices are extremely reasonable and any money spent here goes towards the Thurrock Play Network's community work.

The results for event 416 were published later that morning and 180 people took part, with approximately 10% of the finishers (including us) having largely walked the course. 20 people were recorded as having volunteered in some capacity. The weekly attendances are usually in the region of around 150 participants, but that figure appears to be on the rise as, at the time of writing, the top four most-attended weeks had all occurred within the last few months. The attendance record stands at 195 and this was set in October 2024. I recorded the course using my Garmin and the GPS data can be viewed on Strava. The same data was used to create a course fly-by video using the Relive app. For the record the course is identical to the one used during my first visit in 2016.

As far as cancellations are concerned, the event tends to be fairly hardy. The off-road surface means that frosty and icy conditions do not tend to cause the same problems as they would for a tarmac course. There are very few trees so the risk of one falling during stormy conditions and causing a problem is minimal. I can only find one occasion where the event has been cancelled and this was 3 March 2018, which was during the Beast from the East snowstorm where the temperatures were -11 and the lying snow made it difficult to judge the ground beneath, especially on those bumpy sections. So overall it is a pretty safe bet during extreme weather conditions.

Thurrock parkrun is one of those events where a no-frills venue comes to life thanks to the efforts of the local community. There's a wonderful close-knit community feel and everyone we spoke to was extremely welcoming. It's an off-the-radar kind of event, but it's certainly one worth visiting. I'd like to end by adding my thanks to all of the volunteers that made the event possible.

Related Links:

• My Thurrock parkrun GPS data (11 January 2025 / Event 416)
• The Relive course fly-by video (11 January 2025 / Event 416)

• The Essex parkrun venues

• My original 2016 Thurrock parkrun write-up

Roundshaw Downs parkrun

Roundshaw Downs is an area of chalk down located mostly within the suburb of South Beddington, which is part of the town of Wallington, in the London Borough of Sutton. It sits to the west of the busy A23 road which links London to Brighton. Historically the area was used as farmland but at the beginning of the 20th century it became home to Beddington Aerodrome, which was established in order to protect London during the First World War. In 1917 National Aircraft Factory No.1 was constructed and the Airco DH.9 (known as the de Havilland DH.9 from 1920) biplane was produced here. Waddon Aerodrome was established adjacent to the factory, primarily as a place to test new aircraft.

Winston Churchill, who at the time held the positions of Secretary of State for War and Secretary of State for Air, visited regularly and also took flying lessons here in 1919. He had a pretty nasty crash onsite when the plane he was flying had a malfunction causing it to crash into the downs at around 50mph, luckily he and his instructor both survived.

In 1920 Beddington and Waddon Aerodromes were handed over for use in civil aviation where the newly combined site operated under the name London Terminal Aerodrome, Croydon. At this time the airport became home to the world's first Air Traffic Control Tower. In 1923 the 'Mayday, Mayday, Mayday' distress signal was first used after it was created by the airport's Senior Radio Officer, Frederick Mockford. Following the passing of the Croydon Aerodrome Extension Act 1925, the airport was enlarged and many state-of-the-art features were installed. This included the world's first purpose-built airport terminal and airport hotel, plus an upgraded Air Traffic Control Tower and hangars.

Being at the forefront of aviation meant that the airport played a role in many record breaking flights. Among these were Alan Cobham's 15-day return flight to Cape Town, South Africa, in 1926 which earned him a knighthood, and Bert Hinkler's 1928 flight to Darwin, Australia which took 15.5 days. The record for flying between Australia and England was lowered to 12 days when Charles Kingsford-Smith landed at Croydon in July 1929. Charles Lindbergh visited the airport in his plane a few days after becoming the first person to fly from New York to Paris - he was greeted by 100,000 people. The most-famous of all the record breaking pilots was Amy Johnson who, in 1930 took off from Croydon on her way to becoming the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia. It took her 19.5 days. She stayed in the airport's hotel the night before where she reported an awful night's sleep due to the sound of all the traffic on Purley Way.

The airport was again used by the military during the Second World War where it was renamed RAF Croydon. It also became home to RAF Transport Command whose main role was to transport thousands of troops to and from mainland Europe. The aerodrome apparently used eight different names throughout its existence, and once the Second World War was over its use reverted to civil aviation where it was known as Croydon Airport. It served as London's main airport until the lack of expansion opportunities meant that Heathrow took over this role shortly after the war. Croydon Airport finally closed down in 1959. During the 1960s part of the land in the northwest corner of the airport was redeveloped into the residential area and park called Roundshaw.

The rest of the former airport's land to the east and south was left unattended for the next 30 years, and in this time nature thrived. In 1993 the area was formally renamed Roundshaw Downs and declared a Local Nature Reserve the following year. The name Roundshaw is noted on old maps as 'Round Shaw' with the 'shaw' being a natural strip of woodland that is often used as a boundary. In fact the area featured quite a number of 'shaws'. The one that the area and parkland takes their name from was a circular outcrop of trees, hence the 'round' part of the name. A berm, constructed in 2011, runs through the parkland and this marks the boundary between Sutton and Croydon. It follows the former path of a much larger section of raised ground known as the Mere Bank which was flattened during the construction of the airport. It is thought that it may have originally been a Roman Road.

Roundshaw Downs covers an area of 38 hectares of land located mostly within the London Borough of Sutton, but the grassland on the eastern side of the berm is technically located within the London Borough of Croydon. The downs are largely left in their natural state, and apart from the grass and dirt footpaths there are no on-site facilities at all. In 2012 a large central area was enclosed and this is reserved for the five Sussex Cattle that permanently live on-site. Their grazing allows the land to be managed in a very natural way and assists in providing habitats for the wide range of wildlife that resides there. This includes ground-nesting birds such as Skylarks and Meadow Pipits. There are voles present on the downs and these are the perfect food source for the local Kestrels. Finally the chalk downs provide the perfect home for Roman Snails which are legally protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

On 18 July 2009, almost 50 years to the day after the airport closed, the downs became home to a free, weekly, timed 5 kilometre event called Roundshaw Downs parkrun - it is the 15th oldest UK parkrun still in operation. Like all parkruns it is a community event run entirely by volunteers and is open to all abilities including those who wish to walk the course. I have visited this parkrun on multiple occasions but never on the same day of the week. My first and second visits were as part of my New Year's Day doubles in 2012 (Sunday) and 2013 (Tuesday). It wasn't until my third visit in December 2017 that I actually participated on a Saturday. My fourth visit was on New Year's Day 2025 (Wednesday) and it was from that fourth visit that this expanded write-up was produced.

There are plenty of travel options. If driving, the venue is easily accessed by road from the A23 (Purley Way). Free on-street parking can be found within the adjacent industrial and commercial area. The best road to head for is Imperial Way which is named after Imperial Airways, the forerunner of British Airways. There is an entrance to the downs at the southern end of the road. Alternatively you could leave the vehicle in The Colonnades retail area car park, which is free-of-charge but limited to a maximum of three hours. If cycling there are no bicycle racks within the venue, however there are some on the opposite side of the A23 in Purley Way Playing Fields and within The Colonnades retail area. However I think most people would probably try to find a tree or fence near the Imperial Way entrance to the downs.

The nearest railway stations are Purley and Purley Oaks. They are both served by Southern Railways trains running between London Bridge and Tattenham Corner or Caterham. Purley is also served by trains from London Victoria and by Thameslink services running between Bedford and Redhill via London Bridge. The onward walk is around 1.6 miles (2.6 kilometres). If alighting at Purley station it is possible to use the 289 bus to complete the journey. There is also the option of alighting at South Croydon or East Croydon stations which both offer the option of using the 119 bus to reach the venue. West Croydon Station is also served by national rail, Croydon Tramlink, and by the London Overground, where the journey to Roundshaw Downs can be completed by using the 289 bus.

The closest London Underground station is six miles away in Morden which is the terminus of the Northern Line, and while using the tube is probably not the most efficient route, the 154 bus provides a direct connection to Roundshaw where you can alight on Spitfire Road. This bus stop is also served by the S4 bus which connects the area to Sutton. The venue's main bus stops are on Purley Way adjacent to the Battle of Britain War memorial which stands at the northeast corner of the downs. The 289 and the 439 buses stop here while the 119 stops a little further along the road.

In the vicinity of the downs you will find many large, modern superstores and warehouses. However if you take a closer look you may spot some of the original airport buildings - most notably on the main A23 Purley Way is the former terminal building, Airport House. In front of this is the unmissable sight of an aeroplane raised on struts - it is a de Havilland Heron, which is the type of plane that made the last passenger flight from the airport in 1959. Coincidentally it was almost certainly built at the de Havilland factory in Hatfield whose former land was home to the now closed Ellenbrook Fields parkrun.

Amongst the above are four hotels, all within walking distance of the downs. The closest is the Grand Sapphire which is on Imperial Way. The London Croydon Aerodrome Hotel is just around the corner and occupies the original 1920s Croydon Airport hotel building. The opposite side of the A23 is home to the Hilton London Croydon and purple palace fans will be delighted to read that the London Croydon (Purley A23) Premier Inn is just next door. Adjacent to the last two is The Colonnades retail area which contains a McDonalds and a Costa Coffee and this is where you will find the closest toilets. Note, there are no toilet facilities within Roundshaw Downs.

The parkrun meeting area and the finish can be found next to the entry point at the end of Imperial Way. It is also where the briefings are held. Roundshaw parkrun takes place over two identical anti-clockwise laps which takes in most of the areas that make up the Local Nature Reserve. The surface underfoot is 100% off-road on a mixture of grass and dirt paths which can become quite muddy in the winter. The good news is that the chalk downs drain very well so the course can recover quickly from wet conditions. Given the nature of the course I would always wear trail shoes when visiting, but in good conditions road shoes are fine. My January 2025 GPS data recorded a total of 60 metres of incline over the full 5 kilometres, so it is not a flat course. People pushing regular-width buggies will generally be fine on the course, but double-width buggies will not fit through two points on the course. Muddy conditions will make it more of a challenge. Overall I would say that this is not a suitable course for wheelchair users.

The main briefing takes place and the participants move over to the start line which is just on the other side of the berm, to the west of the meeting area. The general theme of the lap is that the first 1.8 kilometres are spent ever-so-slowly edging uphill. There are flat sections in between the inclines and most of the uphill bits tend to feature a gradient change of around 4.5%. At just over a kilometre in, the view across to the centre of Croydon opens up and for a moment it feels like the climbing is done. However, the course weaves around and through a small patch of woodland where the elevation continues to rise. Upon exiting the woodland, there is a short section which in winter can get a bit boggy.

The route then reaches the previously-mentioned berm which runs north-south through this part of the downs and it is crossed via a tight turn through a small opening, crossing the border into the London Borough of Croydon. Shortly after this, about three quarters of the way around the lap, the route finally reaches its highest point and the lap's final 700 metres or so are all downhill. Although it is possible to largely let gravity do the work here, some attention is required as the ground underfoot tends to be a bit lumpy which could lead to a stumble or twisted ankle. Keen-eyed participants may spot the small remaining section of the old airport tarmac to their left. Once at the bottom of the downhill the route simply passes through another narrow gap in the berm, returning to the London Borough of Sutton, and onwards to start the second lap, which is identical to the first.

With two laps complete the finish line can be crossed where each finisher is given a position token. This can then be taken across to the barcode scanners who will scan it along with the personal barcode. I recorded the course using my Garmin and the resulting GPS data can be viewed on my Strava account. The data was used to create a course fly-by video using the Relive app and it can be viewed on YouTube. Once all the participants have completed the course, the team heads off for the weekly post-parkrun social gathering. The course page does not state the venue but it was confirmed that the team generally go to Mellows Pavillion Cafe which is about 1.5 miles away. The other fairly close option is to pop over to The Colonnades retail park which has a McDonalds and Costa Coffee which both open early, plus there is also a KFC, Pizza Hut and a Nando's which open a little later. 

The results were processed and published on the event's results page shortly after the event. In terms of expected number of participants, Roundshaw Downs parkrun has traditionally remained quite an intimate event where a normal week would usually be attended by around 150 people. Occasionally this may break into the low 200s. The course attendance record is 508 which was set at event 666, and very clearly a one-off. The second and third highest attended events were in 2017 and both attracted 271 people. For the record there were 153 participants on my last visit which was New Year's Day 2025.

As far as cancellations are concerned, the venue seems to cope very well in all weather conditions so is unlikely to cancel even during strong winds or periods of ice and snow. From what I can see the main reason that has led to cancellations in the past is when travellers' vehicles gain access to the Croydon part of the downs, east of the berm and set up camp, blocking that section of the route. However the event now has a B course which sticks entirely to the west (Sutton) side of the berm, meaning as long as the vehicles remain on the east (Croydon) side, the event should still be able to go ahead. 

Post-event it's worth having a look around the immediate vicinity where you can find the former airport buildings and the de Havilland plane. The Air Traffic Control Tower is part of the rear of the Airport House building, so it is worth having a nose around to see if you can see it. Another interesting, and slightly unusual, feature can be found near The Colonnades retail area. In 1935 the site became home to the Purley Way Lido and although the pool itself was closed in 1979 and filled-in in 1981, the Grade II Listed Diving Stage remains in place in the grounds of a former garden centre. It's worth popping over to the area behind Wickes to take a look.

top right photo credit: Ian pullen

I'll no doubt head back over to Roundshaw Downs parkrun a few more times over the next few years to try to take part seven times on all seven days of the week. Until then I'd like to add a huge thank you to all the volunteers that made the event possible and made us feel so welcome.

Related Links:

• My most recent Roundshaw Downs parkrun GPS data (January 2025)
• The Roundshaw Downs parkrun Relive course fly-by video (January 2025)

• The Roundshaw Downs parkrun B course GPS data (7 October 2023 - Original data not mine)
• The Roundshaw Downs parkrun B course Relive course fly-by video

• The London parkrun venues

Previous blogs featuring Roundshaw Downs parkrun

• New Years Day 2012
• New Years Day 2013
• Roundshaw Downs parkrun write-up 2017

Ingrebourne Hill parkrun

Rainham is a suburb in the London Borough of Havering, East London, with a population of around 12,500 people. It was recorded in the Domesday Book as Raineham and its naming is thought to originate from either the settlement of a man called Regna or through a link to the Roegingas people of Rainham, in Kent. Historically part of Essex, it was a small agricultural village which supplied produce to the City of London via the River Thames, which forms Rainham's southern border. Its expansion began in the 18th century with the construction of a wharf; this allowed greater exchange of goods into London and also enabled 'muck' to be transferred from London for use on the farms.

The arrival of the railway in 1854 helped to kickstart further growth with many of the roads and residential buildings that exist today being laid out in the late 19th century, replacing the farmland around the centre of the village. From around 1869, chemical and fertiliser industrial premises started to be constructed adjacent to the Thames, they were joined shortly after by an iron-foundry. The industrial area has continued to expand over the years and now extends right into the central part of the town. It is also part of the London Riverside business improvement district. It is home to many companies including Rainham Steel, Tilda Rice and a Tesco distribution centre. A large landfill site exists in the far south, and this is permitted to process 1.5 million tonnes of waste per year. The famous Ford Dagenham automotive factory sits to the immediate west.

Despite the large industrial presence there are still plenty of green spaces throughout the town. There are large areas of marsh land, notably Wennington Marshes and RSPB Rainham Marshes (technically this may be in Purfleet) plus a few traditional parks and a golf course. One of the Rainham's newest areas of parkland is Ingrebourne Hill Country Park. It has been created on land which was originally used as a farm. In the 1950s it became a sand and gravel quarry, and was used for landfill from the 1960s. In the late 1990s a waste management company acquired the land and added inert materials (those which do not decompose such as bricks, concrete, ceramics and rubble) over the top. This significantly raised the base level of parts of the land giving it the hill which now forms part of the park's name.

A partnership between the Forestry Commission and land reclamation and restoration company Ingrebourne Valley Ltd was formed and the area transformed from disused land into a 57 hectare country park. Part of the restoration involved improving the soil quality to allow plants and trees to grow.

The country park takes its name from a small waterway which runs through the town called The River Ingrebourne. The name was first recorded in 1062 as Ingcebourne, but then disappeared completely for over half-a-century. During that time the river was not often mentioned officially, but when it was it was referred to as Haveringesheth or Raineham River. The name Ingcebourne was seemingly rediscovered when the old 1062 document was published in 1661. Apparently, the typeface used for the publishing was mis-read and it was interpreted as Ingrebourne when it came back into use. Since then the river's name has been written as the Rivulet Ingreburn and as Ingerbourne, which incidentally more accurately reflects how it is pronounced.

The river is part of the Blue Ribbon Network and is considered one of London's strategic waterways. Adjacent to the river are the Ingrebourne Marshes (a Site of Special Scietific Interest) which features extensive areas of wetland reeds, making it home to an abundance of wildlife. Also next to the river is a small patch of land that was used as a rifle range by the London Rifle Brigade between 1872 and 1910. Ingrebourne Hill Country Park covers the land to the immediate west of the river and the former rifle range. It also shares a border with Hornchurch Country Park which is just to the north and is on the former site of RAF Hornchurch - the two parks are effectively contiguous.

Ingrebourne Hill Country Park features over 4 kilometres of pathways, plus scrub, meadows and grassland, a mountain bike trail and its hill which features views in all directions including into Central London. There is also a lake called Lake Stillwell - This takes its name from Ronnie Stillwell who was a Spitfire pilot based at RAF Hornchurch protecting London from enemy attack. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal and the Distinguished Flying Cross for his role in the Battle of Britain. There are also areas of woodland that form part of the Thames Chase Community Forest which covers 47 sites across East London, Essex and Hertfordshire. This project has a particular focus on regenerating old mineral extraction and landfill sites.

I visited the park to take part in Ingrebourne Hill parkrun which is a free, weekly, timed 5 kilometre event open to all abilities from the speedy sub-20 runners all the way through to those who prefer to take a leisurely stroll. It is run by the local community and offers plenty of volunteering opportunities to those who are interested in becoming involved. The meeting point for the parkrun is at the southern end of the park just next to the car park. Please note there are no cafe or toilet facilities within the park.

Travel to the venue is possible by car, where it is easily accessible from the M25 and A13. There is a free-of-charge on-site car park (2 metre height limit), however please note that it only holds around 23 vehicles (26 were squeezed in on the day I visited) so not all parkrunners will be able to take advantage of this parking option. The local residential side roads to the west and north of the park appear to be completely free of restrictions so they may provide an alternative. An overall better option may be to use the parking facilities at the Rainham Tesco Extra supermarket which allows (customer) parking for up-to three hours. The walk from Tesco to the country park is just over 1 kilometre (0.7 miles).  The main advantage to parking here is that the Tesco has (customer) toilet facilities.

If using public transport, Rainham Railway Station is located in the centre of town, not far from the Tesco. It is served by c2c trains running between London Fenchurch Street and Grays. You will most-likely find the station listed as Rainham (Essex) on timetables to avoid confusion with the town of the same name in Kent. The onward walk to the country park is about 1.3 kilometres (0.8 miles). The National Rail Enquiries website lists that there are toilet facilities at the station. If using the London Underground, Dagenham East is the closest tube station which is 2 miles from the park. Conveniently, the 103 London bus runs between the tube station and the park. The town itself is also served by the 372, 165 and 287 London bus services, with the 103 being the only one that stops at the park itself. For cyclists, there are a few bicycle racks in the park quite close to the car park.

If an overnight stay is required there are a few Premier Inns that are close-by. The London Rainham branch is on the A1306 about 2.5 miles to the southeast of the park, or the London Dagenham branch is roughly the same distance to the west. There are also a couple of Travelodge Hotels, both in Dagenham. Within walking distance of the park is a pub called The Phoenix which supposedly offers overnight accommodation, but there seems to be conflicting information about whether this is still the case. I've sent them a message asking for confirmation but have not had a response.

The parkrun meeting point also doubles up as the main area for the briefings and is where the start and finish are located. The course comprises three clockwise laps, the first of which is different to the second and third. Underfoot, the surface is 100% gravel paths so it should be possible to use regular road shoes all year round, but some people may prefer to switch to trail shoes when the conditions are unfavourable. As far as elevation is concerned, my GPS data registered 29 metres of elevation change with 50% of that occurring within the first 500 metres. As far as suitability for buggies and wheelchairs goes, I'd say those pushing a buggy should generally be fine, but it's probably not the most ideal course for wheelchairs. The main concern would be the first lap which involves the park's hill.

From the start the course heads to the north where the first of the three laps is negotiated. As mentioned above the first lap is different to the other two, and when reaching the junction it keeps to the right. This lap features a trip up to the summit of the park's hill. The main part of the incline is about 200 metres long and at its steepest hits an incline of 6%, however overall it tends to hover around 4%. The moment the course reaches the top, it immediately starts to head back down with the elevation profile being the exact opposite of the way up. The notable thing about the down section is that it features a couple of switchbacks and the surface is gravelly so take care on the way down. The rest of the first lap simply heads along the north side of the lake and after 1.1 kilometres passes back through the start area.

Upon reaching the junction for the second time, the course turns to the left and this marks the start of the second (and third) lap. This one is 1.8 kilometres in length and is a loop around the northwestern part of the park. It is essentially flat almost all of the way around with the exception of an approximate 100-metre-long rise with a gradient of about 5% which is found about three-quarters of the way around. The path is extremely easy to follow and the only spot where a wrong turn could be made is when reaching the connecting path that heads northwards into Hornchurch Country Park. Thankfully this spot is marshalled to ensure that nobody ends up going the wrong way.

The parkland either side of the path is a mixture of scrub and small patches of woodland, and the view is pretty much the same all the way around. The path itself meanders gently as it progresses around this section of the park. Every now and then the mountain bike trail can be seen lined with boulders, and although I didn't see any mountain bike riders on the trails, it would be worth keeping an eye out for them as the trail does cross the parkrun route at various points. Once two laps of this section have been completed the course simply heads back along the opening stretch of path but in the opposite direction until reaching the finish line which is located in the same place as the start line. Barcode scanning takes place on the adjacent path which runs alongside the lake. 

My visit here was on 21 December 2024 which was event number 2, so the number of attendees was still heavily weighted towards parkrun tourists. The event's historic results page will of course give a better picture of this as time goes on, but there were 245 finishers on the day I visited. I suspect the weekly attendance will ultimately end up dropping off once the tourists have got their initial visits out of the way. However, I think it will remain a popular venue due to its name beginning with an 'I' which will attract people who are trying to complete their parkrun alphabets or namely challenges. The results also show that there were 27 people recorded as volunteers. I recorded the course using my Garmin and the resulting GPS data can be viewed on Strava. The same data was used to create a Relive course fly-by video which can be viewed on YouTube.

Given the type of park, any cancellations of the parkrun are likely to be at short-notice and related to unsafe conditions underfoot or other weather-related reasons. Although the paths are gravel, lots of puddles form around the course so that could be an issue in sub-zero conditions. Also bear in mind that there is a risk of the scrub land catching on fire during extremely dry periods in the summer, which it did in August 2024. The park itself isn't suitable for other events such as fireworks displays or festivals, so I wouldn't expect any cancellations of that nature. However the Spitfire Scramble 24 hour race takes place here in July so the parkrun will probably have to cancel for that. As mentioned above there are no cafe facilities in the park, so anyone looking for post-parkrun refreshments will need to find somewhere else. At the time of writing there is no information on the parkrun's official page that mentions where the team officially goes for refreshments. Overall, I suspect the Tesco Extra Cafe will be a popular choice.

For other post-parkrun activities, Rainham doesn't offer a huge amount of options and much of the surrounding area is industrial, so the main places that stand out are Hornchurch Country Park which contains a Covid-19 memorial woodland and various remnants of the park's former use as an airfield, and RSPB Rainham Marshes adjacent to the River Thames. There is a Georgian house in the town centre called Rainham Hall, built in 1729 and now run by the National Trust. A final, slightly odd option would be to check out the Rainham Marsh open-air latrine which is marked on Google Maps as a tourist attraction.

We had a lovely time at Ingrebourne Country Park and I'd like to extend a huge thank you to all of the volunteers that put the event on.

Related Links:

• My Ingrebourne Hill parkrun GPS data (21 December 2024 / Event 2)
• The Relive course fly-by video (21 December 2024 / Event 2)

• The London parkrun venues
• The Essex parkrun venues

South Norwood parkrun

South Norwood is a district that sits within the London Borough of Croydon and has a population of around 17,000 people. The name 'Norwood' is the Old English word for North Wood, and this comes directly from the Great North Wood which was an oak forest covering a large area in south-east London. The woodland was used for hundreds of years as a source of timber, charcoal and bark, but the expansion of the population in London led to many of the trees being felled in order to create space for agricultural land. While some of the natural space remains in the form of parks or small patches of woodland, the majority has of course become part of the built-up urban areas of London.

The area of South Norwood was a small hamlet until a period of expansion began in the mid-19th century which roughly coincided with the arrival of the railways. Incidentally at around the same time, an experimental atmospheric railway was being tested in Norwood and its track had to pass over the London to Brighton trainline. This led to Norwood being the location of the world's first ever railway flyover. This was followed by further expansion when engineer and inventor William Ford Stanley had a factory built, and this was followed by his technical school in the early 20th century. He also built himself two residential properties in the area and one of them was subsequently used for a short period to house Britain's youngest female killer, Mary Bell.

The local area has a claim to fame in that in 1966, the Jules Rimet Trophy (The original FIFA World Cup), which was stolen from Westminster Central Hall was found under a bush on Beulah Hill, Upper Norwood by a dog called Pickles who subsequently became a national hero. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes, lived in the area between 1891 and 1894. His house on Tennison Road now has a blue plaque commemorating his time there.

The far south-eastern corner of the district is now a 116-acre natural space and has quite a varied history. It is known to have once been the site of a medieval double-moated manor house owned by a travelling Crown Judge called Robert de Retford. The manor house was known as 'Leweland' before evolving into 'Lewemote', and it is thought to have suffered from extensive flooding due to its location on low lying land. It appears to have been demolished by the mid-15th century. Later records show its name as 'La Motes'. The area sits on London clay which is perfect for brick making, and the Portland Road Brickworks occupied part of the site from the end of the 18th century.

The next significant usage of the land was from 1865 when 'South Norwood Irrigation Farm' later known as 'South Norwood Sewage Works' was opened. It wasn't a particularly successful sewage works as the drainage was very poor, however, it was quite successful when it came to agriculture. Despite this, it remained in use until 1967 when it was finally closed down for good. For the next fifteen years the land was left alone and it naturally regenerated into grasslands and wetlands. In 1982 the land was declared as 'Metropolitan Open Land', and at the end of the decade work began on transforming it into a park. After the Second World War, tonnes of spoil/rubble from destroyed buildings had been disposed of at the site, so it was gathered up and used to create an artificial mound which is the highest point in the otherwise pancake-flat area. In 1989 the site was officially opened as South Norwood Country Park.

The park covers 116 acres and is largely a haven for wildlife including at least 59 different species of bird including owls, woodpeckers, kingfishers, cuckoos, starlings and skylarks. There are a number of species of reptiles and small mammals present in the park. It is also home to around 19 species of butterfly, which is apparently an unusually high number for an urban park. Given that the focus of the park is on wildlife and nature, there are not a lot of facilities on-site. There is a small children's playground, a currently unused visitor centre building, a refreshments kiosk and a small car parking area. An interesting fact is that the historic border between Kent and Surrey runs through the park. Towards the end of the 1990s the Croydon Tramlink line was constructed through the west and south sections of the park.

On 8 July 2017 the park became home to a free, weekly, timed 5 kilometre event called South Norwood parkrun which is open to all abilities including those who wish to walk. It is a well-established community event which also offers a wide range of volunteering opportunities. The parkrun meeting point is located adjacent to the visitor centre building (currently closed, see below) and playground. This central point is also where the start and finish areas are. It is also where the briefings take place.

When the event first started the toilet facilities at the Croydon Sports Arena were available to people attending the parkrun, however this arrangement no longer appears to be in place. Sadly there are currently no toilet facilities available within the park either and as I understand it, this is largely due to an arson attack on the Visitor Centre in April 2020. As of December 2024 the council has not begun the process of restoration and it is unclear if it ever intends to. The closest alternative toilet facilities that I am aware of are in the Beckenham Elmers End Tesco Superstore which is just to the east of the park. We had a pit-stop at the McDonalds on Wickham Road (A232) to use their facilities.

My first visit was on 15 July 2017 where I took part in event number 2. Almost seven-and-a-half years later, on 14 December 2024, I revisited and took part in event number 323. There are two main options for car parking. Firstly, there is the car park at the adjacent Croydon Sports Arena, which is free-of-charge. It is also possible to park for free in the small car park within the country park, but bear in mind it only holds about 30 or so vehicles. These two car parks are mentioned on the parkrun's course page as the best places to park. It also mentions that there is no parking on the adjacent residential roads. While I appreciate the underlying intention to avoid causing issues with local residents, this information does not appear to be correct. From what I could see the side roads did not have any parking restrictions at all. However they were full of parked vehicles, so are obviously in very high demand. Those visiting parkrun should just stick to the car parks mentioned above.

The area is pretty well connected, so it is fairly easy to reach using public transport. Firstly, the aforementioned tram line means that you can use Tramlink services which connect the area to Croydon, New Addington, Beckenham, Mitcham and Wimbledon. There are two Tramlink stations at the park and these are Harrington Road, which is closer to the parkrun meeting area, and Arena which is further away but still easily within walking distance. Mainline trains also pass close to the park - the closest are Elmers End served by Southeastern Trains running between London Charing Cross and Hayes (Kent), and Birkbeck served by Southern services running between London Bridge / London Victoria and Bromley. However, the much larger Norwood Junction station, also served by Southern services, is also not too far away. Norwood Junction is also served by London Overground services on the Windrush Line which runs between West Croydon and Highbury and Islington.

The best bus services seem to be the 354 and 356 which stop to the northeast of the park on Elmers End Road, or the 289 and 367 which stop near the Tesco. The 289 also has additional stops on Long Lane which may be a little closer. There are cycle racks within the country park near the parkrun meeting point and also within the sports arena car park. I should also note that when entering the park from the southwest you need to cross over the Tramlink line. There's not a bridge or anything, you have to walk (or drive if accessing the on-site car park) directly across the tram line itself, and the trams whizz along quite quickly.

The parkrun takes place over a two-lap clockwise course which covers almost the entire park. The current course configuration has been in use since event 104 on 6 July 2019 and is not the same as the original course that was in use when I first visited in 2017. The surface underfoot is mostly a slightly stony hard path, but there is also a section which ventures off-road and can become very muddy in unfavourable conditions. I would lean towards wearing trail shoes at this course especially over the winter. The hill profile remains flat throughout most of the course, but there is one fairly gentle incline towards the end of each lap. The course is not particularly well-suited to wheelchairs but participants pushing buggies should be fine.

It's not the easiest course to describe in detail and I'd say it would be extremely difficult to turn up and freedom run the course without being familiar with it beforehand. Anyway, from the start the course heads northeast where there are a few gently meandering sections on an otherwise straight path which leads all the way to the most northerly point of the course where a marshal directs participants onto the path which runs along to southern side of the lake. Again there are a few meandering bends as the path progresses alongside the lake, however the areas to the sides of the path are so dense with trees and bushes that the lake cannot be seen until a small clearing at the end of the path reveals a view across it.

The route then crosses a small stream which I understand may be a section of the Chaffinch Brook, and then follows the path which runs alongside the stream. Initially there are a few fun twists to negotiate before it once again turns into a straight path. A second crossing of the stream follows and the course then heads around to a marshal point where the participants are directed off of the main path and onto the off-road section.

In the summer the path can become lined with a thick coverage of thistles and stinging nettles, with just a single-file path to navigate through. In the winter the nettles are not a problem, but it can get pretty muddy. It can also be a little uneven in places so watch your step around here. The path is easy to follow and it slowly works its way down to the course's most southerly point, running adjacent to the tram line for a bit.

A sweeping right-hand turn directs the route back towards the north, where it continues to follow the off-road path. The end of the off-road section is marked by a short climb covering about 100 metres or so which starts with 3.6% gradient through a sparse line of trees followed by a shallower incline of about 1.5% which gradually increases to 6.1%. The route then works its way around the southern end of the car park via a steep, sharp downhill of around 6% which requires a little care as it can be muddy. The end of the lap is found just around the next corner. The second lap is identical to the first and participants can simply enter the finish funnel at the end of lap two. Barcode scanning takes place adjacent to the finish.

The course was very well laid out, with arrows and cones being placed at all the junctions around the route, plus there were a good number of marshals positioned in all the right places. In total the split of surfaces during the lap was around 1.5km hard surface and 1km off-road, making it 3km hard surface and 2km off-road over the course of the full 5 kilometres. The total elevation change was recorded as 18 metres on my Garmin, so it's not that far off being a flat course. For further detail on the course please feel free to view my GPS data on Strava or the Relive course fly-by video on YouTube.

Snacks and drinks (now including tea and coffee) can be purchased from the community-run kiosk next to the playground. Any profit made is re-invested back into the park with the aim being to help re-connect the local community to the park. Should breakfast be required you would have to look elsewhere. The results were processed and uploaded shortly after the event had finished and there were 109 finishers at event 323 on 14 December 2024. This is on the lower side of the expected numbers which are usually in the 150-200 range. The nature of the park means that it is not suitable for other events such as festivals or fireworks displays, so any cancellations of the parkrun would most likely be weather-related. I'm only aware of one cancellation to date and that was during the Beast from the East in 2018.

Post-parkrun unless you want to explore the park further, there's not really anything else to do on-site. If you happen to have kids with you, they would of course be able to spend some time in the playground. We popped over to the mound to check out the view from the top, and we also did a bit of tram spotting from the main crossing point. After that we decided to make a move, so headed off home. A huge thanks to all of the volunteers and locals that welcomed us to their event.

Related Links:

• My South Norwood parkrun GPS data (14 December 2024)
• The Relive fly-by video (14 December 2024)

• My original course GPS data from 2017 (course no longer in use)
• Original course Relive fly-by video (course no longer in use)

• The London parkrun venues (blog7t)

• My original South Norwood parkrun write-up (2017)

Battersea parkrun

Battersea is a district in the London Borough of Wandsworth, south west London, and has a population of around 73,000 people. It sits between the districts of Nine Elms to the east, Clapham to the south and Wandsworth to the west, while its northern boundary is formed by a 3 mile stretch of the River Thames. The name is recorded in Anglo-Saxon times as Badrices īeg, which translates into Badric's Island. This is likely to have referred to the island where the area's original manor house, church and fields would have been located. The manor first belonged to the nunnery of St. Mary at Barking Abbey, with control being passed to Westminster Abbey following the Norman Conquest. 

In the Domesday Book, the name appears as Patricesy, and it then went through a few variations including Battrichsey and Battersey before settling on the modern-day spelling. The area was largely farmland where it supplied produce to London from its market gardens. It was particularly well-known for its pig farms, watercress, asparagus (sold in Battersea Bundles) and lavender (grown on what is now known as Lavender Hill). In the 1830s railway lines began to be constructed through the area and in 1863 the world-famous Clapham Junction station was opened just inside Battersea's southern border. Clapham Junction is the country's busiest railway station based on the number of passenger interchanges undertaken there. The new train lines provided a boost to Battersea's industries where it became home to a number of large companies producing starch, silk, malt, chemicals and candles. The large number of industrial premises led to Battersea being heavily bombed during the Second World War.

The most famous landmark in the area, Battersea Power Station was built between 1929 and 1955. It consisted of two coal-fired power stations (Battersea A and Battersea B) which is what gives it its distinctive and iconic four chimney design. At its peak it was producing one fifth of London's power. One of its architects, Giles Gilbert Scott was also the designer of Liverpool Cathedral and the iconic red telephone box. The power station was closed in stages with the A station ceasing operations in 1975 followed by the B station which closed in 1983. The building was declared a heritage site in 1980 and was given Grade II Listed status, and as of 2007 this was raised to Grade II* status. 

The building was featured on the cover of Pink Floyd's 1977 album 'Animals'. It also appeared in the 2006 film 'Children of Men' and in 2008's Batman: The Dark Knight. The site (but not the power station itself) was used in 'Superman 3' (1983). It has also featured in a couple of video games, in 'Dirt 3' it is included in its disused state where the player can drive around and inside the building as part of a Gymkhana stage, and also in 'Watch Dogs: Legion' where it is a shopping centre. The building has now been regenerated and features a shopping centre, although its quite different from the one portrayed in the game. The power station is just next door to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home (currently known as 'Battersea') which has been a permanent fixture in the area since 1871.

The first real cluster of housing was in the Battersea Village area around the High Street, but the large residential expansion started at the end of the 18th century when wealthy Londoners began to build large villas. This was followed in the mid 19th century by the building of the two and three storey terrace houses, many of which still make up a large amount of the area's housing. In 1846, following the passing of The Battersea Park Act, a 320-acre plot of land alongside the river, previously known as Battersea Fields, was acquired by the 'Commission for Improving the Metropolis' for the creation of a brand new Royal Park. This land had previously been used by the market gardens, and was also a popular spot for duelling. 200-acres were used for the park while the remaining land was put aside for residential developments.

It was laid out to the designs of Sir James Pennethorn, who designed the nearby Kennington Park and also Victoria Park, in east London. 750,000 tonnes of soil excavated during the creation of Surrey Docks, in Rotherhithe, was shipped over to Battersea in order to raise the level of the park to prevent flooding from the River Thames. The park's grand carriageways were created along with a lake and other features such as gardens designed by the park's first superintendent, John Gibson. In 1858, Battersea Park was officially opened to the public by Queen Victoria. The first exhibition football match to be played under Football Association rules took place in the park on 9 January 1864. It was also used as the home venue for Wanderers F.C. who were the first-ever winners of the F.A. Cup (they actually won it five times between 1872 and 1878).

Over the years, the park has remained a crucial green space for local residents to escape the hustle and bustle of the city. During the Second World War the land was again used for growing crops, and it also housed anti-aircraft guns, barrage balloons and shelters. It was a central part of the 1951 Festival of Britain where the pleasure gardens were created which included the Guinness Clock, a roller coaster and fun fair, along with a miniature railway and the forerunner of what would become the park's children's zoo. Later on, in 1970, the roller coaster suffered from a fire and in 1972 a derailment resulted in the deaths of five children. The roller coaster never re-opened and the whole fun fair closed down shortly after. The northern half of the park is still home to the remnants of a some of the festival's original installations. It has also been used as a filming location for scenes in a number of films including The Death of Stalin (2017), The Great Muppet Caper (1981) and 101 Dalmations (1996).

The modern-day park continues to provide the same escape as it always has and is extremely popular. The park currently contains the original carriageways, a bandstand, a number of gardens including the Old English Garden, Sub Tropical Garden, and the Russell Page Garden, an events venue called Evolution London, the Pump House Gallery, sculptures by Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, and The London Peace Pagoda. There are two playgrounds, the Battersea Park Children's Zoo and a Go Ape tree top adventure facility. The lake still exists and boats can hired throughout the summer months, plus there are all-weather pitches, tennis courts, cricket nets, a bowling green, an athletics track and gym facilities in Battersea Park Millennium Arena. There's also bike hire (including trikes, recumbents and tandems) from London Recumbents and a pitch and putt golf course. In short this park has pretty much everything you could ask for.

Battersea Park is also a well-known haven for runners. There are a number of regular running events that take place in the park including the popular long-standing Sri Chinmoy 5k, 10k and relay races and the RunThrough 5k, 10k and half-marathon events which take place throughout the year. I've visited Battersea Park many times over the years, some of those were for the Battersea Park Mo-Running 5k event which I took part in on four consecutive occasions in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. In 2024 I visited the park, but this time it was to take part in Battersea parkrun, which is a fully inclusive, free, weekly, timed 5k event which takes place on Saturday mornings at 9am. It is open to all abilities including those who wish to walk and wheelchair users. It also offers the perfect opportunity to engage in a bit of volunteering.

Travel to the venue is fairly easy as it has extremely good public transport connections. Firstly, the closest railway stations are Battersea Park, served by Southern trains running from London Victoria towards the south coast and Queenstown Road which is served by South Western Railway between London Waterloo and Weybridge. Battersea Park station is technically also served by London Overground trains, but the services may be quite limited, so check the timetable beforehand. Wandsworth Road is also served by London Overground services. London Underground's Northern Line runs into Battersea Power Station tube station. Another Underground option would be to use the District or Circle lines and alight at Sloane Square where you could walk south and cross over Chelsea Bridge to reach the park (approx 1 mile).

100/500 photo credit: sharon maria boland

There are of course many buses that also pass close to the venue. The 44, 137, 211, and 452 services all stop on Queenstown Road on the eastern border of the park. The 44 also stops to the south of the park on the A3205, as does the 344. To the west of the park there are bus stops that are served by the 49, 319, 345, 639 and 670.  Lastly, on the opposite side of the river, the 170 stops on Chelsea Embankment where you can simply walk across Albert Bridge and into the park. Please note that this is London, so there are probably many other buses that get within walking distance of the park that I haven't covered. If cycling the park has numerous sets of bicycle racks dotted around. Plus there are a few Santander Bicycle Docking Stations on Prince of Wales Drive and Albert Road, should you wish to hire a bike for the journey.

For those brave enough to drive to the venue there are a few parking options. The park has three different parking areas within its boundary, but only two of them are usable when visiting on the morning of the parkrun. Each one is accessed via a different entry point and charged at a weekend rate of £3.40 for up to three hours or £6.80 for over three hours (note: the weekday rate is much more expensive). The car parks have payment machines but payment can also be made via RingGo which may cost slightly more due to an added convenience fee. Albert Car Park is closest to the parkrun meeting point and this can be accessed via Albert Gate from Albert Bridge Road. The second is towards the north-east corner of the park and can be accessed via Chelsea Gate from Chelsea Bridge / Queenstown Road.

The third car park is accessed via Rosery Gate from a roundabout called Queen's Circus at the park's south east corner. However, there is a sign at this gate which notes that from 11 October 2024 it is closed between 10.30pm on Friday evenings until 10.30am on Saturday mornings. My understanding is that this closure is in place to help facilitate the parkrun by ensuring the course remains vehicle-free. The final option for car parking would be to use the free-at-the-weekend on-street parking which can be found on most of the side roads to the south and west of the park. If parking on Prince of Wales Drive the western end seems to have better availability of spaces. Wandsworth Council has a really helpful map showing the full car parking arrangements in the immediate vicinity of the park.

Should an overnight stay be required there are a couple of options near the park, the closest being the Pestana Chelsea Bridge Hotel which overlooks the park or the art'otel right next to Battersea Power Station. For those that prefer the familiarity of a Premier Inn, the closest ones are at Clapham or Victoria. I should also note that Victoria is London's largest and main coach station so if travelling to London by coach, Battersea is quite an easy location to reach from the terminus, with the onward walk being just 0.7 miles to the park's entrance. If you happen to have access to a helicopter, London's only licensed heliport is located on the south bank of the Thames just to the west of the park. There is a river boat service that stops at Battersea Power Station, however it does not run early enough to make it a viable travel option to reach the venue pre-parkrun.

The park can be accessed from the east, west or south sides and the parkrun meeting point can be found at the junction of Carriage Drive West and Central Avenue, to the west of the park's bandstand and adjacent to the Albert car park. There are three main public toilet facilities present in the park. The closest ones to the meeting point are the Fountain Toilets located next to the fountains just to the north of the avenue. The additional two are the Beechmore Toilets located on South Carriage Drive near the Sun Gate on the southwest corner, and the Pierpoint Toilets which are located on North Carriage Drive next to the zoo. All three sets of toilets have an 8am opening time all year round. They are helpfully marked in red on this map on the Enable Leisure and Culture website.

Battersea Park has been a desired location for a parkrun for as long as I can remember, so when the event finally started in October 2024, it was an instant hit. In fact its initial regular attendance figures (excluding event 1) which are in excess of 1000 people per week are unprecedented for such a young parkrun. The nearby Clapham Common parkrun, which itself is very well attended, took 36 events to reach a four-digit number of finishers, but even that was a one-off at that point. The mighty Bushy parkrun didn't break into a four-digit number of finishers until their 392nd event, in 2012, and not regularly until 2015. The point is that the team at Battersea parkrun did not have the luxury of slowly growing into their event, and they should be commended for how they have quickly learned and adapted to ensure the event goes smoothly.

The first timers' briefing and the main event briefing both take place at the meeting point. When I visited there were such a large number of people gathered around that it was difficult to get close enough to hear properly. The participants are then sent to the start line on Central Avenue in seeded order with those expecting to complete the course fastest starting closest to the front. In order to ensure the start line is formed correctly, the participants are directed around a side path and enter the start area from the rear, filling the start pen from the bandstand side.

The course is a simple two-and-a-bit anti-clockwise lap comprising the Central Avenue and the southern section of the Carriage Drive loop. Underfoot is entirely tarmac, which makes standard road shoes the best choice at all times of year. The course is as flat as a pancake, which makes it one of the capital's fastest venues (I ran my first-ever sub-19 5k here in 2013). Participants with buggies are welcome as are those who wish to participate with a dog. The nature of this course makes it particularly suitable for wheelchair users.

From the start on the beautiful tree-lined central avenue, the participants head to the west. The fixed-width of the avenue coupled with the very high number of participants means that those in the middle or back of the pack may get off to a slower start, but considering the number of people things flow surprisingly well. It doesn't take long for the participants to naturally spread out. As this is an anti-clockwise course all of the turns are left-handers and the first one is reached as the participants reach the original meeting point where they course transfers onto Carriage Drive West. The path itself is reasonably wide all the way around so once that initial congestion has eased, there is plenty of space for everyone, but participants are requested to keep to the left.

The path of Carriage Drive West seamlessly merges into Carriage Drive South as it passes the Sun Gate, Go Ape and then the Battersea Park all-weather sports pitches. The route continues along the drive with absolutely zero chance of getting lost. The areas to the sides of the path soon open up to reveal the Rosery car park (which will be empty for reasons mentioned above), and to the left the park's lake comes into view. It's all very scenic and it is certainly one of London's finest Victorian parks. The drive itself is also open to cyclists, roller-skiers and skaters so keep an eye peeled for them passing by, possibly at speed. The far end of Carriage Drive South passes the Rosery Gate and the route merges (again, seamlessly) onto Carriage Drive East.

A long, sweeping left-hand curve takes the course past the circular building that is home to the Pear Tree Cafe, before continuing past the children's playground and the trim trail. The lake also comes back into view here and depending on the time of year, you may see the boats being prepared for use. Immediately after this, the course turns onto the eastern end of Central Avenue where you can really enjoy the tranquil inner area of the park. After a short while the route reaches the bandstand which is the park's central point. It has a 9 metre diameter and is used for a variety of the usual public bandstand events as well as being available for private events such as weddings.

After passing to the left of the bandstand, the course reaches the start line where the second lap begins. At the end of the avenue there are signs for those starting their second lap to keep right and for those that have completed both laps stay on the left during their approach to the finish funnel. Caution should be advised at this point as those who have just started lap two may drift across the flow of those entering the finish funnel. The finish is located at the very end of Central Avenue just before the turn onto Carriage Drive West. 

Owing to the high number of attendees Battersea parkrun has adopted the same finish funnel solution that you'll find at Bushy parkrun which consists of a triple (or quadruple) funnel system. Upon finishing, stay in order as per usual and just follow the instructions of the marshals who will advise exactly which part of the funnel they would like you to go to. Should you finish towards the back you may find that things have reverted to the more-familiar single funnel set-up.

Barcode scanning takes place just after the funnel and once scanned you are free to continue your morning. If that involves some refreshments, the Pear Tree Cafe is the place listed on the parkrun's course page as the official post-event refreshments get-together. There are other refreshments options in the park including the cafe at the park's miniature golf course Putt in the Park which offers pizzas from their wood-fired oven, and the Pierpoint Cafe (kiosk) next to the zoo. I recorded the course using my Garmin and the resulting GPS data can be viewed on Strava. That data was also turned into a fly-by video courtesy of the Relive app. The video has been uploaded to YouTube.

The results were published online a short while later and 1143 finishers were recorded at event number 6. The event was made possible due to the efforts of the 56 people who were credited as having volunteered so a huge thank you to everyone that helped out. The number of attendees was broadly inline with the previous few events, so it looks like this parkrun is destined to remain a very well attended event which will certainly feature very high, if not at the top, on the list of most-attended parkruns. Owing to the demographic in this part of London, it naturally attracts quite a high number of speedy runners. At time of writing sub-20 finishers have accounted for approximately the top 150 positions. But don't let that put you off because at the other end of the field, the walkers seem to be very well represented too.

Another important thing to note is that this parkrun is likely to be liable to quite a few planned cancellations, so remember to check their news, social media and the parkrun cancellations page before organising a visit. The park is home to quite a few other events, so expect a cancellation around bonfire night as the park hosts the annual Battersea Park Fireworks display. Over the August Bank Holiday weekend the Battersea Park in Concert is a relatively new event that is likely to cancel the parkrun. There may also be cancellations for other events, including other running events, but the park is a very popular venue for all sorts of things. It hosted races in the 2015 and 2016 Formula E motor racing season, but due to some controversy around the location's suitability for motor racing, this is not likely to happen again. Weather-related cancellations could happen and are most-likely to occur in snowy, icy or dangerously stormy conditions.

The park is very nice, so if visiting for parkrun don't forget to explore a little before leaving. I'd especially recommend checking out the London Peace Pagoda which was built in 1985. It features four bronze installations which depict the stages of a Bhudda's life; birth, first preaching of dharma, enlightenment and parinirvana. It is tended to daily by the same monk that took on the role in 1985. The lake is beautiful and there are some interesting lakeside areas to find and explore. Plus there are various statues and other interesting features dotted all around the park. Of course, being right next to Battersea Power Station means you can simply pop across to the road to explore the historic building's new shopping centre, cinema or even take a ride on Lift 109 which goes right to the top of the north-west chimney giving a fantastic panoramic view of London.

We ended up having a full day out at the park and the power station, finally leaving as it was starting to get dark just after 4pm. A huge thank you goes to all of the volunteers that put on the parkrun.

Related Links:

• My GPS data for Battersea parkrun (Event 6 / 30 November 2024)
• The Relive course fly-by video (Event 6 / 30 November 2024)

• The London parkrun venues (blog7t page)